Leaky Cauldron
by Nina-Satine
Summary: During Sarah's visit to London she stumbles across an interesting looking building that it seems only she can see.


Sarah had been watching the building for some time. When she first noticed it she asked a random passerby what kind of shop it was, they had thought she was crazy. She had watched as the person looked from one building to the other, completely ignoring the one in the middle that originally caught Sarah's attention. There was the slight buzzing sound that Sarah had long grown accustom to, it chimed in her ear seeming to make a sound similar to the word "magic". Sarah apologized, she mistook the area for another not bothering to check her surroundings. The person walked away without a backwards glance. Sarah knew not to draw attention to herself, that's what the whispering bells had told her. She had asked Hoggle about it one time, about the noises that makes no sense, yet somehow she could understand everything it meant to say. He told her that the Labyrinth had taken a liking to her, he didn't elaborate, and Sarah didn't ask him to. The magic of the Labyrinth never failed her, it kept her safe on more than one occasion.

So, she kept her distance, stayed out of sight and watched. She saw odd characters come and go, some wore pointed hats, or cloaks, or out of date dresses, and boots that laced far too high for her liking. Then curious Sarah, stubborn Sarah, made the decision that she was going to venture in.

It took her time to find a store, with incense, candles, tarot cards, and healing crystals. Sarah spent far too much money on a long velvet dress of a deep dark green color, a long black hooded cape that clasped only at the collar, and uncomfortable laced up ankle boots that looked worn and scuffed. The magic of the Labyrinth rang in her ear, you don't have to go, it spoke, there really isn't anything you need to see. But Sarah would not listen, as the Labyrinth already knew, so instead it assured her that it would take care of her, if she felt she really needed to go, and of course Sarah did.

The reassurance of the magic protecting her, gave Sarah all the courage she needed to walk through the door with the sign that said The Leaky Cauldron above it. As soon as she stepped in she knew why the place seemed so odd, candles lit the pub, and Sarah could feel the magic that resided in it, it crawled towards her and she could hear the annoyance from the Labyrinth's magic at the sudden attention that was given to its favorite mortal. She moved deliberately trying her best to keep the attention off of her, and placed on a barstool at the counter of the pub. It took a while for the bartender to take notice of her.

"What can I get you?" He asked.

"A pint of Ale." Sarah replied confidently. The bartender nodded and moved away. Sarah kept her hands in her lap and her back straight. She knew if she couldn't stay hidden the next best thing was to seem unapproachable, and confidence was the best thing for that. The bartender came back and placed the pint in front of her.

"A galleon 5 sickle." He said. Sarah tried not to act surprised, and lifted her change purse trying to think of a way to get out of the sudden situation she had just put herself in.

"'is on me." A voice spoke from behind her, Sarah fought the urge to jump, and slowly turned to face the man who had neared her. "Get me one as well." The bartender turned and walked away to get the second drink.

"Thank you." Sarah said looking at the face of the man who inadvertently saved her. He had blue-grey eyes, with something dark lightly smudging around the lining. He had long brown untidy hair with a streak of red, that was pulled back and held loosely by a ribbon. And when he smiled his teeth where straight and pearly white. Sarah looked slowly down, perhaps seeming shy under his gaze; really she had taken in his wardrobe. He looked like something out of a punk band, a black leather jacket, military looking buttoned up vest, plaid pants, studded belt, and black scuffed boots, a red band of sorts wrapped around his upper arm, a fingerless glove on one hand, and a big ring on the other.

"Name's Scabior."

"Pleased to meet you Scabior," she looked back to his face and said the first name that came to mind, "I'm Helena."

"Hmm," he said turning his head to the side, "romantic. You wouldn't 'appen to 'ave a last name to go with the first would you, 'elena?" Sarah opened her mouth to reply when the bartender returned interrupting any conversation that was taking place, to place the pint in front of them.

"2 galleon 10 sickle." The bartender said. Sarah noticed the man next to her stiffen up.

"Gone up in price I see Tom." He replied, reaching a hand into his pocket and producing the coins.

"Have to stay in business somehow don't I?" The bartender, who Sarah assumed was Tom, replied. "Not many customers lately." He finished quickly and walked away before Scabior could reply. Sarah wondered if she could take those moments and sneak away. Suddenly the man was leaning back against the bar, pint in hand, and looking at her again.

"Where were we at love?" He asked as he took a few gulps of his ale.

"Introductions." Sarah said taking her own cup in hand and sipping on the bitter drink.

"You're not from around these parts, I would 'ave remembered a face such as yours, beautiful." He said leaning further back against the bar as though to get a good look of her.

"It's my accent isn't it? There's no hiding that I'm from out of town." Sarah said looking at his eyes, hoping to keep his attention enough to distract him from looking at her appearance and seeing that she was more than just foreigner that stumbled in.

"There's something about you love." He said turning his head to the side again, Sarah wanted to panic, but the whispering soothed her, so she continued to look into his eyes, the confidence stayed on her features.

"A good something I hope?" Sarah let out, a smirk playing her lips. She watched as the man before her continued to look at her as though he was assessing her, trying to capture every detail of her words, and her face. Scabior could see a glow about her, she couldn't be anything less than pure, he was certain of it. After a stretched out moment he smiled brightly at her.

"The best." He replied before taking another swig from his drink.

"Scabior," A man called from somewhere behind her, "we ought to go, just got word from the ministry. They 'ave a list this time." Scabior had a sour look on his face, he took a few more gulps and looked into his cup.

"Bloody waste." He mumbled before setting the cup down onto the bar top. "Seems as though duty calls." Sarah gave him a small smile, really it was a smile for herself; she was relieved that he was leaving. "Any chance I'll be seeing you again love?" He asked leaning close, and running the tips of his fingers through her hair, the movement caught Sarah by surprise.

"I don't know." Sarah said slightly leaning away from him, luckily he didn't seem to notice her movement.

"You don't 'ave to promise me nothing, I'm sure I'll see you soon love." For a moment Sarah thought he could see right through her, instead he just smiled, and walked away. The murmuring in her ear assured her that he was nothing to worry about, so she continued to face the bar, letting out a sigh of relief. After a moment she glanced to look in his cup, noticing he had drank a little more than half of its contents, not much of a waste, Sarah thought. Another person walked up and sat a chair away from Sarah.

"No' meaning to pry or nothin', but you seem like a nice sor', I jus' wanted ter let ya know tha' it would be best ter keep away from a fellow like that." Sarah turned to the new man, he was big, and fuzzy looking. He looked to her with honest eyes, and all Sarah could see was Ludo.

"Trust me, he is not the sort I would normally be seen with."

"Oh, I just thought. Well, yeh let 'im buy you a drink." Sarah looked down to the bar top.

"I had little choice but to let him buy it for me." Sarah all but whispered. The man's eyebrows shot up, and he moved his eyes quickly about the room, making sure that no one was nearby to hear their conversation.

"Yer not from around here are yeh?" Sarah shook her head no. "Are you a muggle born?" He asked in a whisper. Sarah looked at him with obvious confusion. "You're American yeah?" Sarah nodded.

"Is that what you mean by muggle born?" She asked. He shook his head no.

"'merican's 'vae a different word fer it." His face was set in concentration. "Ah, No-maj?" He said looking at her, the chimes whispered on her head.

"If you're asking me if I was born without knowledge of magic then yes." Sarah replied. His eyes widened.

"You shouldn' be here, it's dangerous." He replied. "You can' tell me that you don' know about what's been going on here. Word has to travel."

"I can't go back." Sarah started, not after she had come so close to this new world of possibilities. The whispers hissed in her ear, but she ignored it, as it knew she would.

"That there fellow, if he knew, he would 'ave taken you to the ministry, they would strip yer wand from yeh, and snap it in two." The chimes cried in her ear, Sarah knew it ached. She lifted her coin purse, which was more of a wallet, which held quite a small fortune.

"This is all I have," Sarah said, stretching the truth, she really meant that it was all she brought with her that day. "I don't even have the right currency," which was true because she hadn't know that she would be needing anything different. "Please, if I could exchange what I have, I can get a wand, I left in a hurry. I traveled here all the way from America, I can't go back, there's nothing waiting for me." Sarah pleaded, she trusted the Labyrinth to help her with the wand situation, and she did travel from America, and she meant there was nothing waiting for her at the little apartment she way staying at. Regardless she would not go back till she was satisfied with finding out as much as she could.

The man contemplated her words, and Sarah felt a little guilty for her sight dishonesty, but she would twist and bend the truth just to see how far this rabbit hole would go. The whispering was harsh in her ear warning her to stop, to go, leave the pub and never look back, but curious Sarah, stubborn Sarah, she had decided before she had even stepped a foot into the pub. So whether the Labyrinth liked it or not, Sarah had long made up her mind, and the Labyrinth would follow her to the ends in order to keep her safe, to keep her close, to find a way to convince her to return home.

"I don' know 'bout the wand, the shop is closed, but I can take yeh to Gringotts. I would say the safest place ter be is Hogwarts, but things 'ave changed with the new headmaster, I can see wha' I can do, but I can' make any promises. Let me warn yeh first, a lot of the people out there are good witches and wizards tha' had their wands taken from 'em. I know it's awful ter ask you this, but it's best ter act like it doesn' bother you, stay close to me, and don't draw attention to yourself." With that he stood up and motioned for her to follow him.

"Not to sound rude," Sarah started, "but are you certain I won't draw attention to myself, when I am walking next to you?" She asked looking at how large the man was in front of her, he was far larger then she had first thought him to be. He gave her a slight glare that held no real anger, in fact he seemed far more amused than anything.

"Don' be cheeky."

* * *

A/N: This is the story that started it all, it was inspired by my other story Kingdoms 9, in which Sarah interacts with other magical worlds, I just love the concept right now.

Scabior is a character that I don't read much about, but he is fascinating. I don't know why he was the first person to come to mind when I imagine Sarah being introduced into the wizarding world, but there you have it, this has snowballed into something and I am not sure where it will end. Plus Kudos if you guess our next character, but it's kind of a given.

Also did you catch the Mirrormask reference?

Well I hope you enjoy this.

Happy Readings!


End file.
